Wall assembly



April 9, 1963 J. W.RENN1E WALL ASSEMBLY Filed'Aug 26, 1958 INVENTOR I ES WRENNIE.

BY ATTORNE 5 United States Patent Filed Aug. 26, 1953, Ser. No. 757,236 2 Claims. (Cl. 5ll4-5) This invention relates to a wall construction or a wall assembly and particularly to a wall assembly including preformed panels of finishing material maintained in spaced relationship to a supporting superstructure.

There is wide interest today in walls, including side Walls, which are assembled in factory fabricated units. Such assemblies frequently include supports in the form of light metallic studs or the like, with panels of finishing material, such as compressed and hardened compositions of asbestos and Portland cement, disposed over and secured to the faces of the studs. Such a construction is shown in United States Patent No. 2,033,100 to George D. Kellogg, issued on March 3, 1936. Constructions exemplified by this patent show a plurality of light, metallic beams secured in a vertical manner, as studding, to the floor and ceiling of a room. A plurality of slots are provided in the beams, which slots receive clip means secured to the panels of finishing material, thereby forming a continuous wall. The finishing material is mounted on the beams or studs in such a manner that the upper and lower portions of the finishing material are spaced from the floor and ceiling, exposing the Supporting structure to view. It is necessary, therefore, to provide strip molding or baseboards adjacent the upper and lower ends of the finishing material, or adjacent the floor and ceiling of the room, to complete the wall construction. An example of a baseboard type of wallboard construction and the fastening means necessary to secure the wallboard to the studding arrangement is shown in United States Patent No. 2,040,385 to George D. Kellogg, issued on May 12, 1936. The latter patent shows a wallboard, such as, for example, a baseboard, mounted adjacent the preformed wall by a plurality of fastener means which are secured to the baseboard type wallboard and are slid into the preformed openings in the studding arrangement. The fastening means include spring means or spring-like material so that the wallboard is resiliently held to the studding, thereby preventing the occurrence of any gaps between the baseboard type wallboard and the finishing material.

With the baseboard, or other similar wallboard constructions, as exemplified by the latter Kellogg patent, the fastening means can only be used with the particular studding arrangement shown in the Kellogg patents. Furthermore, the fastening means are such that they have to be accurately located on the baseboard so that a proper securement of the baseboard to the studding takes place. In the event of a misalignment of the fastener relative to the studding, or to the preformed slot in the studding, difiiculties are encountered in installing the baseboard adjacent the finishing material.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a fastener for use in a wallboard construction, such as baseboards and the like, which may be used on all common forms or kinds of studding and walls which are assembled from factory fabricated units.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a wallboard construction, such as baseboards and the like, which provides for ready and easy mounting and disassembly of such wallboard requiring no exact tolerances and which may be assembled to factory fabricated units by hand or by hand with the aid of only the simplest of tools.

A further object of this invention is to provide a Wallboard construction, such as a baseboard and the like, which may be secured to a studding arrangement in a plurality of different ways, that is to say, by having the major portion of the fastening means first secured to the studding and then securing the wallboard to such fastening means or by first securing the fastening means to the wallboard and then subsequently securing such fastener, with the wallboard attached, to the studding.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel type of fastener for use in a wallboard construction, such as baseboards and the like, which provides for several methods or modes of assembling this type of wallboard to a studding and wall construction.

In brief, the invention comprises a particular type of fastener which is secured, in part, to a studding construction or the like, and has a pair of legs thereon such that one leg of the fastener resiliently secures the wallboard to the studding arrangement while the other leg not only spaces the wallboard a fixed distance from the studding arrangement but also has securing means thereon which maintain the wallboard at this fixed distance from the studding construction. The results or objects recited herein are obtained by having a fastener with a central portion secured to an existing studding arrangement and a pair of legs extending angularly from the central portion. One of said legs constitutes a spacer and retainer of a portion of the wallboard while the other leg comprises a springlike member, which when secured to a wallboard clip, resiliently biases such'wallboard toward the studding arrangement, thereby producing a tight construction and preventing the wallboard, thusly mounted, from being easily disengaged from the studding arrangement.

These and other objects will be readily apparent from the above brief description and the following more detailed description, wherein:

FlGjl is a pictorial view of a part of a wall construction, partially in cross-section and with certain parts broken away, showing a wallboard, such as a baseboard or the like, secured to a studding arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the clip used in securing the wallboard to the studding construction in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the wall construction along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the figures, there are shown therein upright supports, such as steel studs 1 constituting a part of the supporting superstructure of a wall and having faces 2 provided'witha plurality of slots 3. Each of these slots has a suitably enlarged upper portion 4, adapted to receive the head of a fastening element and a lower, more narrow portion 5. The narrower portion 5 has a rear edge 6, in inclined relation to the face 2 of the stud, and a straight portion 7 of the rear edge that extends in a direction approximately parallel to the face of the stud. The rear edge is adapted to permit tight engagement of a fastening assembly 27 when the head 27a of the fastening element is forced downward over the inclined portion 6 and thence over the straight portion 7. When the head is thusly forced over the inclined portion and into engagement with the straight portion of the rear edge of the slot, the tightness of the engagement is maintained even though the position of the head is upward or downward over an appreciable distance. The preformed panel 8 of finished material may be disposed over and secured to the main portion of the stud, leaving uncovered the lower portion thereof. Other preformed panels or wallboards in the form of baseboards 9 are maintained on the studs at the lower portion thereof in spaced relation thereto and in overlapped relation with the lower edges of the panels 8.

The panels 8 may be secured to the studs in any convenient manner, as, for example, shown in the aforementioned United States Patent No. 2,033,100. Thus, the panels 8 may be secured in position by means of fastening elements, one end of each of which is engaged in the rear portion of the panel and the other end of which is engaged in the slot 3 in the face of the stud. To maintain the proper relationship within a room interior, the studs 2 are secured to channel members 35, the latter of which are secured to the floor and ceiling of the room or space to be divided or compartmented.

The panels 9 comprise a planar portion or face 9a and a bead portion 9b, the latter of which is intended to engage the wallboards or finishing material 8. A common construction for such haseboards is to have them approximately 6 to 7 inches in height and in strip lengths of approximately 5, 6 or 7 feet; however, they may be easily cut, as by sawing, to the proper length in the event fitting is required.

Mounted on the rear face of each of the baseboards, i.e., on that side adjacent the studding construction 1, is a vertically elongated clip 15 comprising a flat or planar central section or portion 16, seated against the rear face of the baseboard type wallboard 9. At one end of the clip 15 is a hook section 17, the end of which is spaced from the central portion 16, and, at the opposite end of the clip 15 a lip 18 extends angularly from, or is spaced from, the wallboard 9 or central section 16; the clip is secured to the wallboard in any conventional manner, as, for example, by screws, one of which is illustrated at 1619 in FIG. 3.

A clip or fastener 10 is secured to the clip on the baseboard 9, and is also secured to the studding 1 by a bolt system 27. The clip 10 comprises a central section or portion 19 and a pair of angular portions 20, 21, extending transversely, and also upwardly and downwardly respectively, from the center section 19. At the extremity of the angular section 21 is provided an integral extension 22 which lies in a plane approximately parallel to the plane of the center section 19 and also to the plane of the attached baseboard 9. A transverse member 23, having a curved portion 24, extends laterally from the section 22 and maintains the lower portion of the fastener at a fixed distance from the studding 1 by having its curved section 24 in engagement with the floor channel 35. Extending transversely from the opposite side of section 22 is a hooklike member 33 providing a small receptacle or support for the retention of lip 18 of clip 15 thereby preventing the lip from moving transversely from the studding 1. Hook-like member 33 is spaced from section 22 such a distance that lip 18 may be slid into or out of the hooklike extension 33 quite readily but still with a sufficiently snug fit that it cannot be moved transversely as noted.

Section 25 extends upwardly from angular member 20, and, when the assembly is disengaged, that is to say, when the fasteners 10 and 15 are not interengaged, section 25 lies in a plane forming a small acute angle A (FIG. 2) to the plane of section 22 and likewise to the plane of the center section 19. Thus, in its unstressed condition the angul-arity of section 25 is such that it extends toward the studding arrangement 1. The upper portion of section 25 is curved back parallel to the main portion of section 25 to form a spring-like hook 26 to be received within the hook member 17 of clip 15. Since extension 25- is resilient and extends toward the stud 1, after engagement, when the extension is distorted approximately parallel to the face 2 of the stud, a constant bias is thereby produced which maintains the baseboard 9 in tight engagement with the finishing material 8. Thus, in its stressed condition the plane of section 25 is approximately parallel to the plane of section 22, center section 19, or baseboard 9 due to the fact that hook 26 is contained by member 17 of clip 15.

The fastener 15 is suitably formed of a strip of elastic metal, shaped as illustrated, and of a thickness to impart springiness and resiliency. Thus, the fastener 15, as a whole, also assists in maintaining the baseboard 9 resiliently engaged to the studding in addition to the biasing action produced by extension 25.

Fastener 10 (FIG. 3) is secured to the studding 1 by a bolt assembly 27 comprising a main bolt 2.7a having a nut 32 and a sleeve type spacer washer 3 1 securing the clip 10 to the bolt system; the bolt assembly 27 is passed through port 34 in clip 10. Adjacent the head of the main bolt 27a is a cup-like, sleeve washer 29 spaced from the head of the bolt by a spring 28; the body of washer 29 slides on the outer periphery of sleeve washer 31. During fastening engagement of the bolt system 27 to the studding 1, the bolt 27a is slid into the slot 3 with the cuplike head 29a of washer 29 in engagement with the rear edge of the slot; the spring 28 maintains the washer 29 in tight engagement with the studding 1 to maintain thereby proper securing of the bolt system to the studding 1.

After the finishing material 8, forming the Wall of the room compartment, has been installed or connected to the studding arrangement 1, the baseboard construction 9 may be installed to the same studding 1 in a plurality of ways. Thus, for example, the bolt system 27 may be secured to fastener 10 and slid within the slot 3 so that the washer 29 maintains the fastener and the bolt sytem in loose engagement with the studding. The baseboard 9, with clip 15 attached, may be superimposed over the fastener 10 and forced downwardly until the lip 18 slides into the hooklike portion 33 and hook 17 forces forward the end 26 of section 25 and slides thereover thereby also compressing spring 28. After the lower edge of the baseboard 9 touches the floor of the room compartment, the baseboard is in its proper position. Lip 18 is prevented from moving transversely or away from the studding 2, while the spring-like extension 26 maintains the upper portion biased towards the studding 1.

In another, preferred method of assembly, fastener 15, fastener 10, and bolt system 27 are pre-secured to the wallboard 9. The entire baseboard is then placed adjacent the studding until the bolt assembly 27 enters the recess 3; the baseboard, with clips 10 and 15 and bolt assembly 27 attached thereto, is forced downwardly toward the floor. With this movement, washer 29 slides along the inwardly curved section 6 of stud 1 thereby compressing spring 28 and also moving the baseboard 9 laterally toward the studding. Upon the baseboards touching the floor, bolt assembly 27 has fully entered the recess within the stud and washer 29 abuts the rear edge faces of straight bordering portions 7 of the slots 3 of studs 1. Baseboard 9 is tightly pressed against the finishing wallboard 8, and curved portion 24- abuts against channel 35.

With either form of installation, however, the baseboard 9 is still capable of movement parallel to the wall to produce a tight fit or joint between itself and other baseboard sections as the lip 18 of clip 15 is capable of movement within hook 33, and hook section 17 is capable of sliding within hook member 26. Consequently, if it is desired to close up a gap between adjacent baseboards, it is only necessary to hit the end of the baseboard smartly which will produce the baseboard movement necessary to close the gap.

In view of such movement, it is evident that the location of the fastener 10 relative to the wallboard or to the openings 3 need not be precisely adjusted to produce a tight baseboard fit in the initial installation. If, after the baseboard is mounted, a precise fit between adjacent baseboards does not occur, it is only necessary to force one or several of the baseboards sideways, as noted, to produce a tight joint between baseboards.

In installing the baseboard to the wall assembly, such installation may be performed by hand or with only the simplest of tools. In the first method of assembly, clip 15 is first secured, as by screws, to the baseboard 9; bolt assembly 27 is passed through port 34 and bolt 27a is screwed into nut 32. If the latter, preferred method of assembly is used, fastener is secured to clip by slipping hook portion 26 in hook portion 17 of clip 15 and placing lip 18 into the hook-like extension 3 3. Fastener lit) is then supported to the baseboard 9, and the baseboard can be mounted to the studding 1 Without the aid of any tools, as described.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail it will be understood that the details given are for the purpose of illustration not restriction and that variations Within the spirit of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A wall assembly comprising upright supports, panels secured to the supports so as :to leave the lower portions of the supports exposed, a baseboard covering said exposed portions and being spaced therefrom, and fiastening means for attaching said baseboard to one of said supports, said fastening means comprising a first clip having a central portion, means securing said central portion to said support to position said clip in the space between said support and said baseboard, an upper angular portion extending from the upper extremity of the central portion, an upper resilient leg extending from the upper angular portion and spaced from the central portion, a projection on the upper resilient leg, the upper resilient leg and projection being spaced a substantial distance from the support, a lower angular portion extending from the lower extremity of the central portion, a lower resilient leg extending from the lower extremity of the central portion, a lower resilient leg extending from the lower angular portion and spaced from the central portion, a hooklike projection on the lower resilient leg, the upper resilient leg in an unstressed condition being disposed in a plane forming a slight angle with the plane of the lower resilient leg so that the upper extremity of the upper resilient leg is closer to the plane of the central portion than the lower extremity of the upper resilient leg, a second clip having a central portion secured to the baseboard, said second clip having end portions spaced from the central portion receiving respectively the upper projection and lower hook-like projection of said first clip, the upper projection of said first clip being held by said second clip in a stressed condition in a position farther removed from the central portion of said first clip than the position of said upper projection when in its unstressed condition, whereby the second clip and attached baseboard are biased toward the upright supports.

2. A wall assembly as recited in claim 1, including additionally a transverse extension on the lower resilient leg adjacent the lower extremity thereof and abutting the support for spacing the lower resilient leg from the support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,033,100 Kellogg Mar. 3, 1936 2,040,385 Kellogg May 12, 1936 2,114,770 Shipway et a1 Apr. 19, 1938 2,269,384 Spinosa Jan. 6, 1942 2,358,277 Manofsky Sept. 12, 1944 2,604,776 Goldsmith July 29, 1952 2,676,483 Nelson Apr. 27, 1954 2,880,479 Evans et a1 Apr. 7, 1959 

1. A WALL ASSEMBLY COMPRISING UPRIGHT SUPPORTS, PANELS SECURED TO THE SUPPORTS SO AS TO LEAVE THE LOWER PORTIONS OF THE SUPPORTS EXPOSED, A BASEBOARD COVERING SAID EXPOSED PORTIONS AND BEING SPACED THEREFROM, AND FASTENING MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID BASEBOARD TO ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS, SAID FASTENING MEANS COMPRISING A FIRST CLIP HAVING A CENTRAL PORTION, MEANS SECURING SAID CENTRAL PORTION TO SAID SUPPORT TO POSITION SAID CLIP IN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT AND SAID BASEBOARD, AN UPPER ANGULAR PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE CENTRAL PORTION, AN UPPER RESILIENT LEG EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER ANGULAR PORTION AND SPACED FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION, A PROJECTION ON THE UPPER RESILIENT LEG, THE UPPER RESILIENT LEG AND PROJECTION BEING SPACED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FROM THE SUPPORT, A LOWER ANGULAR PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF THE CENTRAL PORTION, A LOWER RESILIENT LEG EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF THE CENTRAL PORTION, A LOWER RESILIENT LEG EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER ANGULAR PORTION AND SPACED FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION, A HOOKLIKE PROJECTION ON THE LOWER RESILIENT LEG, THE UPPER RESILIENT LEG IN AN UNSTRESSED CONDITION BEING DISPOSED IN A PLANE FORMING A SLIGHT ANGLE WITH THE PLANE OF THE LOWER RESILIENT LEG SO THAT THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE UPPER RESILIENT LEG IS CLOSER TO THE PLANE OF THE CENTRAL PORTION THAN THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF THE UPPER RESILIENT LEG, A SECOND CLIP HAVING A CENTRAL PORTION SECURED TO THE BASEBOARD, SAID SECOND CLIP HAVING END PORTIONS SPACED FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION RECEIVING RESPECTIVELY THE UPPER PROJECTION AND LOWER HOOK-LIKE PROJECTION OF SAID FIRST CLIP, THE UPPER PROJECTION OF SAID FIRST CLIP BEING HELD BY SAID SECOND CLIP IN A STRESSED CONDITION IN A POSITION FARTHER REMOVED FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID FIRST CLIP THAN THE POSITION OF SAID UPPER PROJECTION WHEN IN ITS UNSTRESSED CONDITION, WHEREBY THE SECOND CLIP AND ATTACHED BASEBOARD ARE BIASED TOWARD THE UPRIGHT SUPPORTS. 